Something Corporate

Leading worship is something that is very natural and easy for me, and I think I do a good job at it. I've lead for different groups of varying sizes and ages, and I get a lot of fulfillment from it. But the last several months, I've begun to question the whole idea of standing in front of people leading them in singing songs. And that's what it is, no matter how much we mystify it - a worship leader is first and foremost a song leader. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I sometimes have difficulty in distinguishing what's genuine from that which is nothing more than stale church rhetoric. I love experiencing God's presence and worshiping Him through music. There really is nothing that compares to His gentle, intangible, yet unmistakable embrace; when the stresses of this earthly life fade away, if just for a moment, and you're caught in the overwhelming manifestation of infinite love and grace. But the problem I have with worship leading is the other times. How much of what a worship leader does, and perhaps more importantly, how the congregation reacts, is emotionalism and hype? I was speaking with a friend about this, who happens to be a senior pastor who leads worship for his church, and he had some interesting things to say. He told me that he knows that certain songs will produce a specific response in his congregation, and take the service in a certain direction (as a result, he shies away from these songs). And if you've ever lead worship, or even if you haven't, you've probably experienced this. You know, that song that gets everyone jumping, or draws the masses to their knees, or whatever the case may be. Is that genuine? Is God in that? I'm at a point in my walk with the Lord that I'm tired of hype with no substance. I've had more than my fair share, and I sure as hell don't want to add to the problem by feeding this Pavlovian tendency. I don't believe that my job as a worship leader is to be a cheerleader to rally the troops. Church is not a pep rally.

I think a big part of my problem with the way much of the American church views worship is that, no matter how we say "worship is a lifestyle" or whatever cliche is hot these days, worship for most is still that part of the church service where we sing the songs. And I hate that. I even hate that it's labeled as "worship", as though you aren't worship God by learning His word or building relationships with others. And that great musical genre known as "worship music". What makes something "worship music"? Is it the acoustic guitars? Oh, I know. It has to lyrically be directly to God; i.e. God is good = not worship, but You are good = worship. I also love it when people complain about there being too many I's in worship songs. Try saying "I love You" without using "I". Go ahead. Try it. For me, a song about how much I love my wife is just as worshipful to the God who blessed me with her as the latest Hillsong hit. But it wouldn't be appropriate for a corporate "worship" service. And there's the rub. Corporate worship seems to have different rules, as it should. But I'm not sure what those rules are at this point in my journey. I feel like I'm relearning everything, which is actually as invigorating as it is frustrating. Well, I have no answers at this point, but I welcome any input anyone out there is willing to contribute.